News outlets demand access to Jan. 6 footage given to Tucker Carlson

Following House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Ca) move of giving thousands of hours of January 6 footage to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, several other media outlets have also demanded that they be given access to the footage.

On Thursday, Attorney Charles Tobin issued a letter on behalf of 10 media organizations to senior figures in congress formally requesting all CCTV footage recorded inside the Capitol and on the premises of The Capitol that was provided to Carlson.

The letter was addressed to McCarthy, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“The incredible public interest in understanding what transpired on January 6 crosses party lines,” the letter reads.

Tobin furnished The Hill with a copy of the letter and noted comments that McCarthy has made stating that it’s in the interest of the American public that “everybody make their own judgment” on the events of that day.

The media outlets who are part of the coalition are; Advance Publications, ABC, Axios, CNN, CBS, The E.W. Scripps Company, Gannett, the Los Angeles Times, Politico and ProPublica.

McCarthy has faced backlash for providing the footage to Carlson and his team.

McCarthy defended himself in a Wednesday interview with The New York Times by saying that he “promised” to release the footage.

Tobin agrees with McCarthy that the public do have a right to see the footage and make their own judgements, however he said that as per a federal appeals case, certain media outlets cannot be denied the footage.

“Without full public access to the complete historical record, there is concern that an ideologically-based narrative of an already polarizing event will take hold in the public consciousness, with destabilizing risks to the legitimacy of Congress, the Capitol Police, and the various federal investigations and prosecutions of January 6 crimes.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has slammed McCarthy’s decision by saying that he has “needlessly” put the Capitol at risk by providing information on its security detail and this could encourage future attacks. “The speaker is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11. The footage Speaker McCarthy is making available to Fox News is a treasure trove of closely held information about how the Capitol complex is protected and its public release would compromise the safety of the Legislative Branch and allow those who want to commit another attack to learn how Congress is safeguarded,” Schumer said in a letter to Senate Democrats.